Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

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southpaw @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social · 10h

James Michael Johnson, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, is fanatically devoted to Donald Trump and expresses his adoration by endeavoring to give Trump everything he wants, despite never having heard a word Trump has written or said or any specific account of anything Trump has done.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 10h

REPORTER: We know the president moved forward with mass layoffs. We're also learning there were significant cuts to staff at special education services. Are you comfortable with those cuts?

MIKE JOHNSON: I haven't seen the specifics of that and I don't know

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Wear The Peace @wearthepeace.bsky.social · 1d

The beloved Saleh Al-Jafarawi has been murdered. We are absolutely devastated. For 2 years he reported on the genocide of his people, just for him to be murdered during the ‘ceasefire’

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Stephanie Farr @farfarraway.bsky.social · 3d

A Delco tattoo artist with a cobweb tat on his head won the Scrapple Sculpting contest at Reading Terminal Market in Philly with his sculpture of the Eagles Tush Push. The contest was judged by Art Museum ceo Sasha Suda.

Philly remains undefeated, even if we were defeated on the field last night.

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Ian Coldwater 👻🌿 @lookitup.baby · 1d

Boss, we’ve got a problem. Users don’t want this stuff! They keep wanting to turn it off, even when we keep turning it back on!

Boss: I have an idea

Pavel @spavel.bsky.social · 1d

bitch what

Onedrive settings. A toggle for using AI to detect and identify faces is set to on. The caption says, you can only turn off this setting 3 times per year.

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So Mayer @suchmayer.bsky.social · 1d

This is another form of censorship and book banning to my mind: you force an ersatz simplification on young readers while making the original harder & harder to obtain, then tell them the ersatz is better than the real thing (bc it is programmed propaganda pablum).

Sonja Drimmer @sonjadrimmer.bsky.social · 1d

No, resurrecting the corpse of Anne Frank so 12-year-olds can gossip with her is not how you “make history come alive.” It’s how you destroy history so that someone can come in, rewrite it, and then author a future to their liking.

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Will Stancil @whstancil.bsky.social · 1d

It’s bonkers. Like say what you will about Andrew Carnegie but after getting wealthy beyond compare he built libraries. Thiel and Musk and Ellison have been like “what if we restored the third reich? what if I became Big Brother? what if we ushered in an age of superstition, wouldn’t that be neat”

John Castiglione @johncastiglione.bsky.social · 3d

I want 10,000 words longform on how these drug-addled creeps have all openly embraced literal villainy. Like, the most clownish form of "I want to look evil." This feels different than a lot of their historical predecessors!

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Steven Beschloss @stevenbeschloss.bsky.social · 2d

Let’s not forget that every single Republican who stands by and enables Donald Trump could stop this recklessness today, tomorrow or any damn day of the week. Their failure—their refusal—to do so makes them complicit in his crimes and the crimes of his corrupt, lawless regime.

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Tom Joscelyn @tomjoscelyn.bsky.social · 1d

“I spent three nights and three days in federal custody. During that time, I was never told what I was charged with, was not allowed to shower despite being covered in tear gas and pepper spray, had no phone call to my family, and no access to an attorney.” - George Retes, U.S. citizen and veteran.

I’m a US citizen and a veteran. ICE arrested me for no reason.

Jailed for three days without an explanation or ability to notify anyone, George Retes argues the only path to healing starts with the government taking accountability for its actions.

newsletter.ofthebrave.org

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Kevin Elliott @kjephd.bsky.social · 2d

Unconstitutionally taking money that the law says must be spent on one purpose & using it for something else—when it's to establish personalist control over the FUCKING MILITARY—is about as dangerous a constitutional crisis/failure as you can imagine

Via: www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...

The Office of Management and Budget sent a notification to Congress about their intent to use research and development funds to pay members of the military, two sources with direct knowledge tell NBC News.

A spokesperson for the OMB confirmed to NBC News that it plans to use the research and development funds and that there are two years' worth of funds available within the Department of Defense.

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Lynn Becker @cmgiulini.bsky.social · 1d

After spending 43 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, evidence hidden by the prosecution reversed his conviction. Rather than finally enjoying freedom, ICE abducted him for deportation

Depraved.

www.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...

He was wrongfully imprisoned for 43 years. Moments after being released, ICE took him

Subramanyam “Subu” Vedam now faces deportation.

www.miamiherald.com

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Brian Grubb @briancgrubb.bsky.social · 2d

RIP Diane Keaton

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Tim Dickinson @timdickinson.bsky.social · 2d

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Bill Reed @billreed.bsky.social · 2d

Nooooooooo

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 2d

Diane Keaton, Oscar-winning star of Annie Hall and The Godfather, dies aged 79

The Oscar-winner best known for her many collaborations with Woody Allen, as well as films including Reds, The First Wives Club and The Book Club, has died Diane Keaton, one of the best-loved film stars of the past 50 years, has died at the age of 79 in California. The news was confirmed by People magazine. Further details are not available at this time, and her loved ones have asked for privacy, according to a family spokesperson. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

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Dave Levitan @davelevitan.bsky.social · 2d

“We can give $20 billion to Argentina but we can’t afford the CDC’s measles experts” is a hell of an argument

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Tyler King @tyleraking.com · 2d

The leadership of the measles outbreak response was fired in the RIF spree while RFK JR attempts to completely dismantle measles vaccine access for children.

Measles (Rubeola)
MENU V
As of October 7, 2025, a total of 1,563 confirmed* measles cases were reported in the United States. Among these, 1,542
measles cases were reported by 42 jurisdictions: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, lowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, New York State, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. A total of 21 measles cases were reported among international visitors to the U.S.
There have been 44 outbreaks** reported in 2025, and 87% of confirmed cases (1,355 of 1,563) are outbreak-associated. For comparison, 16 outbreaks were reported during 2024 and 69% of cases (198 of 285) were outbreak-associated.

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Pat Inverted Vibe Curve Blanchfield @patblanchfield.bsky.social · 2d

people online are constantly saying shit like "the average person is now post-literate and returning to medieval peasant mindset" while neglecting the corollary, namely that our elite aristos are once again scrying for angels, summoning demons, distilling elixirs of eternal life, etc.

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Brandon Friedman @brandonfriedman.bsky.social · 2d

1. This is illegal as it makes enforcement of the Fair Housing Act of 1968 effectively impossible.

2. Congress appropriates more than $300M each year for enforcement because housing discrimination has one of the ugliest legacies in American history after slavery and Native American genocide.

◥◤Kriston Capps @kristoncapps.bsky.social · 2d

HUD laid off so many fair housing investigators on Friday that it shuttered the regional offices that oversee discrimination cases in 9 states: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

HUD Issues Layoff Notices, Targeting Fair Housing Staff With Deep Cuts

Fair housing staffers who investigate claims of housing discrimination at field offices nationwide were among the hundreds of HUD staffers who received layoff notices.

www.bloomberg.com

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Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 2d

This is beyond bad. All of our disease defenses are down now. We are sitting ducks. This is #RussellVought #DonaldTrump #RFKJr. They are endangering American lives with their insane crusade. These men are hazardous to your health and dangerous to the republic. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/u...

Trump Administration Lays Off Dozens of C.D.C. Officials

www.nytimes.com

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Lauren Ashley Davis @laurenmeidasa.bsky.social · 2d

Hundreds of U.S. students quarantined amid measles outbreaks

At least 270 unvaccinated kids are staying home from school as measles continues to spread nationwide. "Expect more," one expert said.

www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...

Hundreds of U.S. students quarantined amid measles outbreaks

At least 270 unvaccinated kids are staying home from school as measles continues to spread nationwide. "Expect more," one expert said.

www.nbcnews.com

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Tamara Keel, but spooky @tamslick.bsky.social · 2d

The utter inability of legacy news media to be able to deal with being straight-up lied to is one of the primary drivers of this mess.

Brendel @brendelbored.bsky.social · 3d

I like how the news will be like “while the President claiming Portland was ruled by a giant skeleton named Mr Nibbles is not strictly true, it does speak to the anxiety of many Americans”

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Bradley P. Moss @bradmossesq.bsky.social · 3d

I love this image.

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thematthill.bsky.social @thematthill.bsky.social · 5d

Wow. Greg Bovino admits on camera that his agents can detain people if you look scared, change your demeanor, or grip a steering wheel too tight.

As his unmasked agents walk around with large guns to scare you, they may arrest you just for that — even if you're a U.S. citizen.

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MoMA Paintings and Sculpture @moma.bsky.social · 3d

Philip Pearlstein, Superman, 1952
https://botfrens.com/collections/14377/contents/1135826

Gift of Betsy Wittenborn Miller and Robert Miller

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 3d

We live in a country where the government honors insurrectionists who sacked the Capitol, and defines peaceful protest, even before it occurs, to be terrorism.
They know their position is weak, they know they are unpopular, which is why they are seeking to stamp out dissent.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 3d

Mike Johnson: "We're so angry about it. I mean, I'm a very patient guy, but I've had it with these people. The theory we have right now -- they have a hate America rally that's scheduled for October 18 on the National Mall. It's the pro-Hamas wing and antifa people ... "

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Bradley P. Moss @bradmossesq.bsky.social · 3d

They’re now publicly threatening a military crackdown of the No Kings protest.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 3d

Sen. Roger Marshall: "October 18 is when the protest gets here. This will be a Soros paid-for protest for his professional protesters. The agitators show up. We'll have to get the National Guard out. Hopefully it will be peaceful. I doubt it."

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